Quick and easy edibles you can make at home

Edibles are a lot of fun and a great way to dose cannabis, but what can you do when you don’t have a dispensary nearby and you’re not exactly a wizard in the kitchen? Never fear, it’s quick and easy to make delicious and very effective edibles, and you don’t need to be a chef or a chemist to get it done.

Why you should make a small batch of edibles

Edibles have grown in popularity in recent years, and not only because so many states now have legal cannabis dispensaries. It’s also just that edibles are a really fun, convenient, and discrete way to dose. They produce a strong body and mental high that can last for hours, and can be a great solution for people who want to use cannabis but don’t want to smoke, or have a respiratory issue that precludes it. Also, while nosy neighbors may be able to catch a whiff of a joint burning on your back porch, with edibles, for all they know you’re just eating a gummy bear.

Since edibles can be easily separated into single servings, they can also be a more convenient and reliable way for medical cannabis patients to dose.

The pros and cons of edibles

Pros:

A strong, long-lasting high
No need to smoke
No odor, much more discrete
Can be a very fun experience incorporating them in your food

Cons:

Longer onset time
Can be difficult to gauge what the effects will be when trying a new edible
Can be expensive if you don’t make your own
They don’t include the fun aspects of smoking cannabis

But there are some things to keep in mind with edibles. First off, because the onset time can be over an hour, you’ll want to “start low and go slow” until you know how a particular dose affects you. Many people get impatient and up their dose, only to then realize that the first serving is kicking in, and they’ve taken too much. There is no physical danger in getting too high, but it can be an unpleasant experience and it’s better to avoid it if you can.

The other mishap often takes place while preparing edibles – forgetting to decarboxylate the cannabis.

What is decarboxylation?

The most crucial part for making any edibles is ‘activating’ the THC in your herb (Shutterstock)

For cannabis to work (i.e., to get you high) when you eat it, it first must go through a process called “decarboxylation.” This involves heating up the cannabis, which converts the cannabinoid THCA to THC, thus allowing it to get you high. When you smoke, this happens due to the heat of the flame, but with edibles, you have to first heat up the cannabis.

This is quite a simple process. Just bake some ground cannabis on a cookie sheet at 220-245°F (105-120°C) for around 40 minutes and you’re all set.

For our extended guide to decarboxylation, read more here.

Make a cannabis fat or base for your edibles

Fats are an easy and quick base for all edibles (Shutterstock)

Cannabinoids are fat soluble, so prepare them with an infused fat if you want them to work effectively. Here are some of the best bases – fat and otherwise – to use when making edibles.

Oil
Usually made with coconut oil, MCT oil, or olive oil, cannabis-infused oils are highly versatile and can be used in recipes ranging from gummies to marinara sauce.

Butter
Cannabis butter is one of the most popular bases for making edibles, and it’s ideal for recipes like pot brownies or space cake that require baking.

Sugar
Made with grain alcohol, cannabis sugar can be used to make weed candies, a bowl of THC-rich oatmeal, or just stirred into a hot mug of tea.

Honey
“Cannahoney” is honey that you make by infusing cannabis directly into the sweet stuff. It can work great in a honey cake, or like cannabis sugar, spooned directly into some tea or a bowl of oatmeal.

Milk
Milk is also a great base for cannabis infusions. And cannabis milk (“cannamilk”) is the centerpiece of making great cannabis ice cream and other creamy delights.

Some surefire easy edibles

Singles serving edibles
Dinner for one? Many people may be scared off from making edibles because they’re under the assumption that they’ll need to make a big batch of cannabis butter or bake an entire pan of brownies. Actually, there are all types of ways to make single-serving edibles, which can be the perfect solution for a night in.

If you have about half a gram of decarboxylated cannabis, a batch of cannabis firecrackers can be the perfect easy edibles recipe. Simply smear some nutella or peanut butter (ideally the natural ones that are heavy in oil) on two graham crackers, sprinkle on the decarbed herb, close the “sandwich,” and wrap in foil and back in the oven at 230°F (110°C) for about a half hour. It’s that simple.

Ice cream
With a little patience, you can easily make weed whipped cream from scratch. Cannabis whipped cream can be folded into a very easy-to-make batch of cannabis iced cream. Or you could just plop some on top of a slice of pie and call it a night.

Weed Cheez-Its (Weez-Its)
Cheez-Its are a scrumptious salty snack, and can be easily infused with cannabis by coating them with cannabis oil and baking them until toasty. It’s about as straightforward as edibles get.

Sugar cookies
Sugar cookies are some of the easiest cookies to make, and if you’ve already made some cannabis-infused butter, then you’ve already taken care of the hardest part. Simply make the recipe like you would normally, but substitute with cannabis butter instead.

Rice Krispie Treats
Rice Krispie treats are delicious, but their iconic status is probably linked to the fact that they’re so easy to make, with just three ingredients: marshmallows, Rice Krispies cereal, and (cannabis) butter.

Tea
There is no shortage of ways of making cannabis tea, and all are quite simple. You can stir a teaspoon of cannabis coconut oil or butter directly into your normal cuppa, add in a dose of weed tinctures, or use a cannabis sweetener like cannabis honey or sugar. You can also decarboxylate some cannabis stems or kief in your tea and let it steep for about ten minutes.